A friend of mine just pointed me to the #Trumpectomy hashtag on Twitter. The meaning, of course, is a procedure to remove Donald Trump from office. But seeing that term triggered, in a serendipitous flash, a spontaneous understanding of a related term — Trumpotomy.

Trumpotomynoun

A non-surgical procedure by which a person, typically American, willfully acquires a persistently diminished capacity for rational thought in response to a demagogue.

v.t.Trumpotomize,-mized, -mizing.

1. to perform a Trumpotomy on.2. to make (someone or something) abnormally irrational or unthoughtful.

Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, is now confirmed to head the agency she despises.

With today’s confirmation of Betsy DeVos as our new Education Secretary, the Trump administration has taken a significant step toward the increased Trumpotomization of America’s youth.

After (and likely, as a result of) many $millions in political donations, DeVos was confirmed today by a razor-thin 51-50 margin. The tie-breaking vote was cast by Vice President Mike Pence, himself having been Trumpotomized early last year, along with the majority of the GOP senators.

Now we, as a nation, face the very real threat of creeping Trumpotomization. DeVos will work to shift money and other resources away from public education toward private charter schools. Not being bound by the same academic, secular, or non-discrimination standards as public schools, these private schools will have more freedom to teach “alternative facts” as facts and to promote religious dogma (Christian, of course).

Our founding father, Thomas Jefferson, believed that an educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people. But a free, educated citizenry is anathema to a narcissistic, autocrat-wannabe, demagogue. And thus, DeVos is Trump’s perfect choice for Education Secretary. She will diminish our public education system, leaving millions of young people more susceptible to a Trumpotomy.

But those of us–who are still a majority–that recognize and care about the difference between “alternative facts” and facts, have a responsibility to resist the coming onslaught of unreason. Remember, this is not normal. Speak up. Write letters. Donate money. Talk to your friends and family members who’ve suffered a Trumpotomy.

This is memetic war. Spread the word. Let’s get #Trumpotomytrending. Let’s preserve that vital requisite for our survival as a free people.